Louie Recap - Ep. 307: IKEA/Piano Lesson

There will always be moments in life that let you down. That's been one of the key messages in Louis C.K.'s award-winning show Louie. And while I've enjoyed it's run over the last three years and have enjoyed sharing in the misery of my favourite red-haired comedian (sorry Carrot Top), I couldn't help but feel let down by the latest instalment, 'Ikea/Piano Lesson', the seventh episode of season number three.

Louie has hit a lot of home runs deep out of the park over the last couple of episodes. The two-part 'Daddy's Girlfriend' series about him trying to date the cute bookstore clerk Liz aka Tape Recorder played by Parker Posey was fantastic and some of the best television you'll see. Even last week's episode 'Barney/Never' when he had to take care of Doug, the kid who liked to eat bowls of raw meat was a downgrade from the previous two-parter but still had some really funny moments.

While 'IKEA/Piano Lesson' too had some funny moments in it's first act, it just felt like the show was trying to fit way too much into one 22-minute episode. While a lot of comedies will try and stretch one joke out for way too long, perhaps Louie went too far the other way.

The episode started off with Louie dropping his kids off at school and being confronted by Delores (Maria Dizzia), with whom he had an interesting moment in the season two episode 'Bummer/Blueberries'. Well, Delores has been talking about the events that transpired that night with her therapist and wants Louie to come to her therapist's office so she can say some things to him. He rightfully declines. After that, Delores requests another favour. Louie is slow to accept her offer of driving to her IKEA in exchange for a blow job, but eventually he accepts despite the awkward sexual encounter they had. A favour he will rightfully defer to another time later in the episode. When he did this, all I could think of was how funny it will be if they wait until season five when everybody's forgotten about their deal and Louie gets desperate years later, calling up Delores for his favour which she's long forgotten about.

Things go predictably horrible at IKEA with the emotionally unstable Delores and it's all triggered by a rug. This was the best moment of the night as Dolores wanted Louie's input on a rug and wanted him to be more involved in the process despite the fact it's not going anywhere he lives and he's really just along to be helpful and to likely get fellated at some point. At the request of Delores to give his feedback beyond 'its fine', Louie tells her he thinks the rug is okay based on a few ridiculous statements such as that it's 'blue', 'doesn't smell', it's not a portal to another place' and the best of all, because 'it's not coated with AIDS'. While Louie and Deloroes argue about this rug that doesn't transmit AIDS, there's a funny cutaway to a young couple who see the two fighting and promise to never become Louie and Delores. After Louie's outburst, Delores goes into full-on breakdown mode, sobbing loudly and forcing Louie to lay her down in a bed in the middle of the store and tuck her in as he tries to sort of half-assed console her. This is why he defers the oral favour in the van on the way home.

From here the episode slowly goes downhill. Act two features Louie taking his first piano lesson at age 44 because he bought a piano for his kids, but after they didn't want to play it, he thought 'well screw them, I'll learn piano then'. As his piano lesson with Doris the instructor is set to begin, Louie gets a phone call from previous sexual encounter Maria Bamford telling him either she gave him crabs or he gave her crabs, so 'F*ck you, or sorry.' Louie thought he was itchy because of laundry detergent. After learning he likely has crabs, Louie rushes Doris out the door and we cut to him in the bathroom taking a photo of his nether regions with his phone to examine his crab-infested parts, much to his horror as he lets out a loud scream. As if learning you have crabs in front of your new piano instructor isn't bad enough, Louie heads to the pharmacy to get shampoo but can't find it on the shelf so he's forced to tell the clerk that he indeed does have crabs and needs the product, knowing it works because he's had to use it once before. While Louie awaits his shampoo kit, an old lady comes to the counter and is forced to answer awkward questions in front of the comedian about her urination habits and her bowl movements. It's an okay bit but you expect more from Louis C.K. and this show than to resort to old ladies suffering through uncomfortable poop jokes.

The third act starts out on a nice bounce back note as Louie gets out of the shower and sits down to watch TV, seeing the finale of 'Money House' where the winner gets a $1740 prize and there appears to be someone dead/passed out on the floor in the background. He changes the channel to an 80's stand-up comedy channel featuring a younger, thinner version of himself with hair telling jokes about having red-hair and getting burnt at the beach. Wallowing in his own sadness is something Louie has excelled at over the three-year course of the show, and it continues here as he turns on his webcam so he can watch his younger self on the TV, and the fatter, balder present day version on his computer screen below (banner image). More cameos come our way as Louie calls up Sarah Silverman when he sees her on the 80's special, later prompting him to remember a confrontation he had with Marc Maron years ago when they see him perform. Realizing it's actually all his fault and that he's been mad at Marc for 10 years over something he did, he sets up a meeting. Only at this meeting, Marc reminds Louie that they had this exact same talk five years ago, except Louie cried that time. For the uninitiated, we weren't told what the conflict was and this just felt like another attempt to jam way too much into the episode and get as many characters and cameos in as possible.

During the end credits we see Silverman and Louie on the phone again. Silverman feels bad because she thought a comic was dead, prompting Louie to remind her he's not dead at all and is actually a writer on Family Guy. Silverman is disappointed because as she says 'it feels good to be sad for somebody.' When she asks who else is dead, Louie tells her Richard Nixon which elicits a sad 'awww' from the comedienne. Unfortunately for us, this episode has mostly been dead and lifeless for 20 minutes as it just felt like a shambled, hodge podge of ideas that were jammed into way too tight of a time constraint. Where this show really shines is when it gets into the gritty, depressing areas of Louie's life and we're able to see every incredibly sad, soul killing moment in all it's glory, not bouncing from one crazy occurrence to the other.

Critic Ken's Grade: C+

Review: The Campaign

'War has rules, mud wrestling has rules -- politics has no rules.' That's a quote by former American presidential candidate Ross Perot that opens up Will Ferrell's newest comedic offering The Campaign, while also serving as a guideline for some of the outlandishness witnessed over the course of the film.

Ferrell plays Democratic congressman Cam Brady from North Carolina who has run unopposed for two election cycles and is the type of politician who is successful because he can dance around the issues with the best of them and gets people riled up with his catchphrase 'America, Jesus, Freedom', even if he himself doesn't exactly know what that means. He has a strong haircut, a large American flag pin on his jacket and has enjoyed overwhelming support in his district with an approval rating in the mid-60 percentile and has the support of his lovely wife Rose (Katherine LaNansa) and children Jessica and Cam Jr.

All that is thrown for a loop when Brady channels real-life North Carolina congressman John Edwards and gets himself into a sex scandal thanks to an obscene message left on a religious family's answering machine. Even though it's the year 2012 and nobody has answering machines anymore. A point that Brady uses to try and justify his actions to Mitch (Jason Sudeikis), his campaign manager who has worked with him for several years as well as a scrum of reporters and his voting constituents.

Enter local tour guide Marty Huggins, in all his moustachioed and cardigan vest wearing glory played by Zach Galifianakis. Sensing weakness in Brady's district, Huggins is financially backed by two powerful men and thrown into the political arena to run on the Republican ticket and oppose Cam the congressman. Those supporters are The Motch Brothers, Glenn (John Lithgow) and Wade Motch (Dan Aykroyd). Two 'job creators' who have shady plans for the district to increase their profits on their already existing high profits. This is a spin on the real-life Koch brothers (David and Charles Koch) who run Koch Industries and pump hundreds of millions of dollars into Republican political candidates thanks in part to the Citizen's United ruling which lets corporations and billionaires finance politicians through super political action committees, also known as Super PACs.

Watching Ferrell and Galifianakis battle it out on the campaign trail is a hilarious site. For all of Brady's troubles, Galifianakis' Huggins has plenty of his own, having his Americanism thrown into question because he owns two communist Chinese pugs named Muffins and Poundcake. As election day draws closer, Huggins undergoes a patriotic makeover and each candidate goes through a roller coaster ride that involves lots of blown out of proportion scandals, name calling, punching babies and award-winning dogs. Nothing is off-limits for either man, whether that's physical violence, declaring their opponent to be an extremist terrorist or making a sex tape with the other's wife.

When you enter a Will Ferrell comedy, you expect the type of deep, belly laughs that have people doubled over in their seats, and The Campaign certainly delivers on that on a few separate occasions. The best of which involves a scene where Galifianakis tells his family that there will be extra attention on them so they should confess all of their secrets. By the end of this scene, my cheeks hurt from laughing so much and I had tears running down my face. It reminded me of the dinner scene in Ferrell's 2006 comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, but with the sheer ridiculousness of it all multiplied by a few hundred.

For as funny and enjoyable as The Campaign is just purely as a film, it also serves as an amusing reflection on today's political landscape. Questions are rarely answered honestly, and what matters most is the latest scandal and who is the most patriotic with the biggest American flag pin on the lapel of their suit jacket. Billionaires and their money, as well as conniving campaign managers are what really pull the strings, looking to trap the other candidate into a non-controvery to draw the public's attention away from the real issues. Those sorts of real life scenarios are accurately portrayed in this film by The Motch Brothers and their hired gun slash campaign manager Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott), as well as Brady's campaign manager Mitch. While you sit in your seat laughing at the stunts pulled by both Ferrell and Galifianakis' characters, you also marvel at the way their constituents fall for every minute of it and realize that it's not unlike how today's political audience is, when everyday people are fooled and distracted by talking points and who has the slickest ads or election slogans.

As this year's American presidential campaign draws closer, The Campaign is a winner in the polls and it's got my vote. Even if you don't know anything about politics or dislike them altogether, you will get a solid dose of laughter and another fantastic effort from Will Ferrell, who continues his string of stellar comedies. Ferrell and his co-star Galifianakis are a very funny duo and take a film about an election cycle and turn it into a roaring laughfest as each man tries to outdo the other to win that seat in congress. The audience is the real winner however, as we are treated to one of the funniest movies of the year.

Critic Ken's Grade: A-

Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Paper beats rock

Have you ever had a friend who wanted to set you up with a person? They tell you that he/she is so great and amazing and you'll really like them. Then when you meet them, they're an otherwise nice person, but because of all that hype, you're just not as crazy about them as you should be... That's how I felt about 'The Dark Knight Rises'.

Don't get me wrong, TDKR is a good film, full of intense action and a great story channeling Bruce Wayne's struggles and Batman's difficult task of facing the monster known as Bane, played by Tom Hardy. But since director Christopher Nolan released 'The Dark Knight'in 2008, a film which earned Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar for his iconic portrayal of The Joker, it seems like the entire world has been anticipating it's follow up, the third and final installment in this interpretation of the Caped Crusader. Frankly it would be tough for any film to follow up on all that hype and the high expectations of the movie going public.

It's just that the second chapter of Nolan's trilogy was such a masterpiece and had so much going for it thanks in large part to Ledger's charismatic Joker and the chaos he created that maybe the bar was set too high. If you're like me and you believe that 'The Empire Strikes Back' was the best of the original 'Star Wars' films, then you'll know what I mean when I say that TDKR suffers from 'Return of the Jedi' syndrome. George Lucas' Episode 5 in the Star Wars franchise was an amazing film with great action, a good story, Boba Fett and spoiler alert: Darth Vader telling Luke Skywalker that he was his father, something which always shocks people the first time they ever watch it. Then Episode 6 came along, and it was a good movie. It had Ewoks, Jabba the Hutt and closed out the then trilogy in a nice, effective way, but it lacked the punching power which The Empire Strikes Back had in spades.

Which brings me back to the final installment in Nolan's Batman trilogy which is a good mix of the more low-key 2005's Batman Begins and it's frenetic follow-up. There are some heart pounding moments in TDKR, several gritty action sequences and soaring visuals that will look amazing on IMAX-sized screens. The film picks up eight years after The Dark Knight and focuses on Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman who has been out of the public eye during that span. Bale's character is tired and damaged physically and emotionally and must come out of retirement to take on the brutal Bane. It is a formidable task for the hero of the film as he has gotten older and goes up against a hulking maniac which proves to be a true test for him. A lot of superhero films have villains that you know will put up a good fight, but you can't see the hero losing to them. That is not the case here in The Dark Knight Rises. Tom Hardy did a great job bulking up for the role of Bane and is such an imposing and terrifying figure who excels at hand-to-hand combat that you really do wonder if Batman is up to the task.

For as dangerous and menacing as Hardy makes Bane come across, the villain is not without his weaknesses. He wears what could be described as a truly sick orthodontist's idea of head gear around his face that distorts his voice and at times you can't understand what he says. All I kept thinking was, 'Hey Bane, would you please try and enunciate a little better?' Of course I would only think that around Bane, and not say it for fear of being beaten to a pulp. And for as brutal as Bane is, he is nowhere near as charistmatic as Heath Ledger was as The Joker or even as intriguing Aaron Eckhart's portrayal of Harvey Dent/Two-Face in the second chapter. And perhaps that's one of the reasons why this film doesn't live up to it's predecessor. With The Joker and then Iron Man and The Avengers, plus the new Spider-Man, maybe we're just so used to having charismatic figures in our superhero movies. And when you combine Bale's muted, gritty portrayal of Batman, mixed with the darker tones of Bane, this film is lacking that.

There is an impressive cast of supporting characters, most notably Anne Hathaway as cat burglar Selina Kyle who moonlights as Catwoman. I liked all of the different tones of Hathaway's turn in the Catwoman role.  For a lot of the film you don't know who's side she's on and there's more to her than being a beautiful girl in spandex. It's nice to see such a complex female figure in a superhero action film.

In addition to Tom Hardy, director Christopher Nolan also added fellow Inception stars Marion Cotillard who plays Wayne Enterprises investor Miranda Tate, as well Joseph Gordon-Levitt who takes a turn as Gotham City police office John Blake. Cotillard proves to be a love interest for Bale's Bruce Wayne but again proves to be a layered female character instead of just the eye candy. But perhaps the best supporting character in the film is Gordon-Levitt's officer Blake. In our society today, we praise most the heroes such as athletes, celebrities and those who wear capes. But sometimes we overlook the everyday heroes who are out there day after day making a difference. Nolan does a nice job highlighting that in this film, showing what an impact Gordon-Levitt's young police officer makes in Gotham City.

While TDKR is not the best film in Nolan's Batman trilogy, it is an excellent way to cap things off. The director has given us a satisfying conclusion to an epic trilogy, which will go down as one of the best in the history of film. All three films have been excellent installments in the journey of the caped crusader, and it's has been a fantastic reboot of the Batman franchise. The Dark Knight Rises continues that trend and is a steady, gritty film with layered characters that you should enjoy if you lower your expectations from the four-year wait after the masterful second chapter.

Critic Ken's Grade: B+

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Welcome to Critic Ken! I'll be your guide on this crazy journey called a blog.

I'll be bringing you reviews on movies, TV shows, anything I seem to have an opinion on in pop culture when I can. I can't promise you'll agree with me, but if you enjoy jokes about Nicolas Cage and 3D movies (and who doesn't?) then you and I just might get along.

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-Ken